


Right In Front Of Me

by Ghostinthehouse



Series: Demon and Angel Professors [51]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Professors, Disabled Crowley (Good Omens), Emotional/Psychological Abuse, M/M, Mentioned Gabriel (Good Omens), Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:26:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22600201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghostinthehouse/pseuds/Ghostinthehouse
Summary: At home, Crowley poured whisky into two glasses and pushed one of them over to Aziraphale. "Here. We dealt with him. It's over."
Relationships: Aziraphale & Anathema Device, Aziraphale & Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Crowley & Anathema Device
Series: Demon and Angel Professors [51]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1412962
Comments: 31
Kudos: 1242
Collections: Aspec-friendly Good Omens





	Right In Front Of Me

At home, Crowley poured whisky into two glasses and pushed one of them over to Aziraphale. "Here. We dealt with him. It's over."

Aziraphale took it with visibly trembling hands. "Yes, well, on a lighter note, I caught one of my first years trying to cheat. They won't be doing that again, hopefully."

"Oh?"

"I required them to memorise a speech from Shakespeare and recite it to me."

"Which speech?"

"Oh, not one of the famous ones, I'm not that kind. Edmund's villain speech from King Lear."

Crowley covered his face with his hand, shoulders shaking with mirth. "You didn't?" he breathed, awed.

Aziraphale smirked at him."I most certainly did. I fully expect them to learn that speech about being an evil bastard."

" _Angel!_ "

***

John buried his face in his hands. "When I mentioned the rumour about Dr Crowley and Professor Gabriel, Dr Fell said he couldn't comment on someone else's relationship, but he did think that Dr Crowley and his husband were ideally suited to each other."

Matt stared at his boyfriend, mouth open. "That bastard," he whispered in awed respect. "That wonderful, sweet, glorious _bastard_..."

"It was right there in front of me," John mumbled, red with embarrassment. "Why didn't I see it?" Then he realised what Matt had said. "Oh god, enough of a bastard to be worth knowing. That was there all the time too."

***

Days later, Anathema curled into one of their chairs, tucking her feet up under her skirt. "Gabriel was charming when I arrived," she said apologetically. "I didn't know better."

"He's very good at charming, right up until you do something he doesn't approve of." Anthony's mouth took on a hard twist. "He doesn't approve of... Well, what he really wants my angel to do is drop me, and his books, and his soft, sweet, heart, and almost everything else that actually matters to him, and turn himself into a lean, mean, cog in the machine, controlled by Gabriel."

He cocked his head on one side, clearly asking if she understood, and she nodded. "Is it ok to ask what he did?"

Aziraphale stiffened, clasping his hands in his lap. "I would prefer not to talk about it."

Anthony covered the clasped hands with his own long fingers, rubbed a thumb across the nearest knuckles. "No-one's going to make you, angel. But if you want, I can give the gist while you make the tea, save curiousity from eating her alive."

"Very well." Aziraphale unfolded himself from the sofa and vanished towards the kitchen.

Anathema leaned in to listen.

"He was told to stay away from us." Anthony's voice was low and tightly controlled, "But you saw how that worked out. He never misses an opportunity to needle and undermine my angel, about how wrong and bad and broken and worthless he is, but it's all implied. All - words. Nothing anyone will accept as proof, because 'proof' implies one big action to hurt him, and what we have is an endless pattern of little ones. All we have are little 'harmless' snowflakes, looked at individually. Everybody who could do anything official isn't willing to notice that if you pile up enough snowflakes, you get an avalanche, and avalanches," he bit back an expletive-loaded phrase, and finished more tamely, "kill people."

As he went on, Anathema realised just how much weight that little phrase "She was talking to Gabriel" had carried*, back when they had first met, and consequently just what Aziraphale "clearing a few things up" had saved her from. She said, "You did tell me before that he sees you as having corrupted the innocent."

Anthony's mouth softened a bit. "I was there for Aziraphale when he needed me," he said, looking down at the floor. "That's all it took, that and time. I make trouble, I know, but I've only ever," and she could all but taste the heartache in this last phrase, "tried to tempt people into doing things they already wanted to do."

**Author's Note:**

> * Part 17: Let Me Guess


End file.
